As I’ve said before, if there’s one question I’ve received more than any other, it’s:
“How do I get to the top of the search engines?”
Part of my ongoing answer to that question was provided during June’s Open Office Hours Q&A session, in which I walked through the precise order of steps to get your YouTube videos on the first page of the search results in just a few short weeks.
Properly optimizing a video and posting it on YouTube is, by far, the fastest way to achieve first-page search engine visibility without running pay-per-click ads. And properly optimized videos tend to be “sticky,” meaning they stay at the top of the search results long after you’ve done the work to get them there (unlike pay-per-click ads which, if you don’t keep paying for them month in and month out, quickly disappear).
Needless to say, it was an extremely powerful Q&A session, and if you weren’t able to attend I’d highly recommend you watch the replay.
Now, if you cringe at the mere mention of creating a video, you should know that your videos don’t need to be super fancy in order to be successful. You don’t need to be on camera. You don’t even need to record your own voice if you don’t want to. In fact, you can outsource almost the entire production process for your videos.
That being said, whether your videos are simply text, images, and background music, voiceover narrations with background images, or “talking-head” style videos in which you’re actually on camera speaking directly to your prospective clients, there’s one thing YOU must do…
You MUST make sure your marketing videos focus on the wants and needs of the prospective clients who are searching for the services you’re offering.
Not All Videos Should Be Created Equal
There are a number of reasons to create different types of videos. The trainings we provide Therapy Marketing Institute members, for example, often run quite long. But they are educational training lessons, not marketing videos.
As opposed to other types of videos you might create, your marketing videos shouldn’t be very long. In fact, I’d recommend somewhere between a minute and a half to three minutes tops. Why?
Well, we’re all pressed for time and attention spans run short. When you create a video to market your practice – whether you plan on putting it on your website or posting it to YouTube with the intent of getting it to rank at the top of the search engines – the goal of that video is to generate business. This is done either by having people go to your website after watching your video or by having them contact you directly once the video is over. In short, the whole point of your marketing videos is to get prospective clients to take action and find out more about the products and services you’re offering. For this reason, your marketing videos only need to be long enough to create an emotional connection with your viewers (your prospective clients) and get them wanting to know more. That’s all.
This, then, begs the question…
What Should You Say in Your Videos?
The short answer is really anything that addresses the questions, concerns, wants, and needs of your target audience… your prospective clients.
If you’ve taken the time to complete the “Your Marketing Story” worksheet, you should have a pretty solid idea of your prospective clients’ fears, frustrations, concerns, and “hot button” issues.
However, to take this exercise one step further, I recommend you come up with a list of the 10 questions you’re most frequently asked by prospective clients and then address the two to three you receive most often in your first video.
Why not just come up with just the top two or three questions and be done with it? Well, for two reasons…
For one, you’ll find it’s much easier to arrive at the top two or three questions by brainstorming a larger list and then narrowing it down. If your goal is to come up with only two or three questions, you’ll likely overlook some great possibilities. Secondly, if/when you decide to create additional videos, you’ll already have a list of seven or more questions you can use for their content. 
Can I make this even easier? I’ll try…
I’ve helped more than a few therapists create powerful, effective, and compelling marketing videos and I want to make life as easy as possible for all of our Therapy Marketing Institute members. So, toward that end, the following is a list of questions that I’ve put together to help with some of my clients’ videos:
- How are you different from other therapists? What makes you and/or the services you provide unique?
- What are the most important considerations when seeking a therapist?
- What drew you to the field of psychotherapy and made you choose this profession?
- Have you been in therapy yourself? Is it important for a therapist to have gone through therapy?
- What is it like to work with you?
- How long does therapy take?
- Why do people need a therapist? Can’t they change on their own?
- What kinds of people do you work with and what types of issues do you help them resolve?
- How much does psychotherapy cost?
- Is it advisable for people to use insurance to cover the costs of therapy?
It’s important to note that the 10 questions above are listed in no particular order.
Also, you need not address two or three of them in each video. Many of these questions could be the subject of entire videos unto themselves. For example, that last one about insurance (question number 10) could easily be the subject of its own video. This is especially true if you aren’t interested in accepting insurance and want to educate potential clients as to the reasons why.
If the questions help, but you’re still wondering how to put them together into a script for your video, don’t worry… I’m not done yet!
Let’s say you’re interested in targeting people looking for relationship counseling. You’d start by picking a couple of questions from the list above (say question numbers 7, 1, and 2) and then answer them specifically for that target market.
Here’s an example video script – or, at least the basis for one – that you can swipe, plug in your answers, and use as you see fit…
Using question numbers 7, 1, and 2 from above, you can start your video script with an introductory sentence, such as:
“If you’re a lot like many of the clients I help every day, you’re probably wondering why you need a therapist for help with your relationship. Why can’t you just change on your own? Well, …”
Then, after discussing the answer to question number 7 (or whatever question you choose to address), you could say something along the lines of:
“My name is _______________, and I’ve been a licensed marriage and family therapist since _________. In that time … (and then discuss the answer to question number 1, what makes you and the services you provide unique, or whatever other question you choose to answer).”
After this, you can transition to the last question (question number 2, or whatever question you choose), by saying something along the lines of:
“If you’re considering relationship counseling, here are a few important things you should consider when looking for a professional to work with …”
Lastly, be sure to reiterate your name and provide your contact information – especially your phone number and website address. You should put both on the screen at the end of the video as well as state them verbally. I’d also recommend spelling out your website or e-mail address to avoid any room for confusion. And don’t forget to give your prospective clients a reason to contact you today (such as a free consultation, limited availability, etc.).
As I’ve said, I recommend most marketing videos run no longer than two to three minutes in length.
And remember, you’re not limited to doing only one video.
Pick one, two, or three of the questions from the list above that you think a specific group of target clients would be interested in learning more about (or come up with one or more questions of your own). Then, once your first video is complete, you can do another video answering different questions for the same market, or answering the same questions for a different market. Make sense?
All of your marketing messages need to address your prospective clients’ questions, wants, needs, and concerns. Since answering the questions above and others like them need not be confined to your marketing videos, feel free to use these questions and the starter script above anywhere you find applicable.
I hope this script and the questions above help move you one step closer to creating powerful, compelling marketing videos and using them to grow your practice. Video is one of the most powerful media available. And once you know what to say in your videos, the rest is easy… Especially when you outsource it!
Once you’ve created your first video, send us the link. I look forward to seeing what you come up with! And, as always, I’m happy to provide any additional assistance I can. So, please don’t hesitate to let me know how else I can help by leaving your questions and comments below.
